Media content and multimedia content may include text content, still photos and graphic images, video content, audio content, gaming content, a combination of these, as well as other media content. Media players are configured to playback or present media content to a user, for example playing an audio recording of a song, playing a video recording of a movie, etc. Some media players may be specifically implemented for media playback, for example a digital video disk (DVD) player. Other media players, however, may be multi-functional devices that include the media playback capability as one of many functions. For example, a mobile phone may include a media player capable of playback of various media and multimedia content, as well as including mobile telephone communication functionality, email communication functionality, etc. Media players may have network communication interfaces that promote the media player accessing media and multimedia content through the network communication interface, for example downloading an audio recording of a song or downloading a video segment from a network entity, such as a content server.
Advertisers are interested in coupling advertisements with media and multimedia content in various ways. For example, DVDs are often distributed with embedded advertisements and/or promotional offers that are played before the featured movie plays, sometimes referred to as “trailers.” Advertisers are becoming increasingly interested in distributing advertisements to selectively targeted persons or to specific classes of persons who are known to have an above average interest in the content of the advertisement. The interests of classes of persons, for example men over 40 with annual household income over $100,000, may be analyzed by marketing studies. The interests of individuals may be known through interest and usage profiles built from captured purchase information and media consumption behaviors collected at a point of sale or by monitoring communications of the individual. This type of advertising may be referred to as targeted or personalized advertising. Targeted advertising may promote reduction of advertising costs by permitting advertisers to forgo paying for distribution of advertisements to persons who show a low likelihood of responding favorably to the advertisement.